donate your old digital cameras pls

Hey, its nice to have friends who are willing to do their bit to help a charity and this time around my old ex-colleague from the Edge, Grace has got together with some friends to do their bit for Parents Without Partners Bhd by launching a donate your camera drive starting on Thursday Nov 8 and ending on December 10 2012.

See PWP wants to organise a day long photography course for single parents kids during the December school holidays because we think its a great opportunity to teach the youngsters a new skill while keeping them occupied with a new and interesting challenge - mastering the art of seeing through the lens. We're thinking of having between 10-20 kids but to do that we need each kid to hold a camera, a digital camera that is - so the kid can see instantly what kind of pic he's taken and do the necessary if he has not done a good job.

Grace has opted to do this while simultaneously conducting another noteworthy deed - helping the Pos Malaysia to discover or re-discover lost places of interest under the theme of Hilang...hmmm that sounds really interesting and I'm rooting for both Hilang and our appeal for the donation of old digital cameras to be successful.. so if you know of anyone with a digital camera lying unused in a drawer at home or in the office, do give them a not so subtle nudge and tell them to contact Grace as per the banner/poster or Mary Anne at 016-2202958... cheers!

Connecting with Welfare officials

The Welfare Ministry is tasked with assisting the poor and the needy in Malaysia but it is a monumental task for just one government body to handle all the social needs and dire emergencies that crop up like bad mushrooms. NGOs therefore play an important role as the on-the-ground facilitators to reach to the innermost core of the poverty stricken areas and denizens of otherwise hidden slums. JS has been working hands on with many poor single parents located in various parts of the Klang Valley region without the Welfare Ministry being the wiser. Not any more. Recently, Parents Without Partners (PWP) and its social entrepreneurship arm JS went to visit some of the more pertinent Welfare Departments – specifically the KL Welfare Department at Jalan Pahang, the Selangor Welfare HQ at Shah Alam, the Subang Jaya Welfare Dept at SS15 and the Woman, Family and Community Ministry at Putrajaya. Volunteer Lillian and co-founder Mary Anne made the rounds to try and connect directly with the pertinent officials themselves. All except the KL Welfare Dept were very friendly and pro-actively happy to assist us in our enquries and complaints pertaining to the aids and grants available for the single parents and the needy. The KL Welfare Dept on the other hand, insisted that we had to wait for an appointment before we could even meet the director’s PA let alone the director or his deputy ..because all were involved in very important meetings! Haniza Tamin assistant to the director of Socio Economic Development and Welfare Aid at Putrajaya was most helpful with her suggestions on how PWP could liase with the various Welfare Depts to tap into the government aid and assistance programmes for the poor and marginalized in society. Encik Mohd Fadhlie Khamis heading the Subang Jaya Welfare Dept has obviously been one of the more diligent officials around. Since he took over the dept in 2011 last year, he has managed to clear more than half of the 2,300 backlog cases left by his predecessor. This explains how one of our single mums finally got the RM200 (RM100 per school going kid) she desperately needed after applying for four different times over the last three years! Kudos to folks like Mohd Fadlie and Haniza because it is dedication and a genuine compassionate desire to really help the poor with govt assistance that can make a vast and visible difference today!

Gifting to poor single parents

Many people think of property developers as a materialistic, capitalist bunch but most generally are not and they show it in different ways too! One such developer, Bukit Kiara Properties which focuses on developing high end property projects showed their compassionate side in a rather nice, understated way. See, lots of companies have reasons of their own to try and win over the hearts and minds of those working in developer firms and Bkt Kiara Prop is well aware of this. As part of their drive to do business with integrity, they made it a rule that gifts received from well meaning “corporate friends or suppliers” must be declared and handed over by the recipients. All such gifts will then be collected and handed over to worthy homes and deserving charitable causes. Well recently, Parents Without Partners was chosen to receive the gift items from none other than NK Tong, the group managing director himself. The gifts were an interesting assortment from a coffeemaker to wine & liquor, from umbrellas to computer bags and files, from decorative items to thumb drives and hampers among others. For PWP these items will come in useful as year end gifts for our annual Back-to-School party, for single parents wanting to use the liquor to bake cakes or even for items that can be sold to raise more funds at Amcorp mall weekend flea market. So to the smart and generous staff of Bkt Kiara Properties, thanks for thinking of the poor single parents even as you continue to build lovely homes for the well-to-do!

Vintage Enjoyment

For many of us, getting into a car for a ride is so common place. For some kids from the orphanages getting a car ride to anywhere is …ah ya nothing to shout about, they act so nonchalant, so unimpressed, downright bored in some instances it makes the poor host wonder what went wrong. Well for Parents Without Partners Bhd kids which also includes those from poor families, a vintage car ride is very definitely an experience to treasure. Take Ani and her four kids for instance. A Sabahan married to an odd job labourer who can barely eke a living, Ani has had very few enjoyable experiences in her life, marred more often by difficulties than joys. So when the opportunity came for them to participate in the annual vintage car ride organized by the Royal Selangor Club Motorsports Ani and her kids were excited beyond measure – they were up and ready by 7am even though the van was supposed to leave only at 8am! Some 25 of us went for the ride in celebration of the 55th Merdeka Day and the cars galore had kids clamouring to take photos with their favourite vintage models or just hopping into any car that would take them for their ride. The open topped cars were the most irresistible while those with fiery colours be it flaming orange, black or red saw just as many kids clambering on board. The convoy zoomed from the Spastics Centre in PJ to the rustic beauty of the Selangor Coast Club of Klang where the hungry youngsters were treated to a plentiful lunch of meaty curried dishes, vegetables, rice and fruits topped with ice cold drinks that one couldn’t get enough off especially since the weather was blistering hot! And oh yes, the clown was around to pass them some cute little balloons while keeping them entertained with his motley magic tricks. It was obvious some of the kids from different homes must have seen the clown performing before because they could accurately predict what his trick would result in which quite detracted from the joy and surprise that the newbies were experiencing. All in all, Ani and her kids had the time of their lives and for PWP, that’s a priceless benefit – to bring joy into otherwise drab lives!

"Duit Raya" for our Muslim single parents

Hari Raya this year is a lot more celebratory than previous years for Parents Without Partners (PWP)’s poorer Muslim parents thanks to some cash contributions given by some concerned journalists, their relatives and kids. When JS SMSed a special request for old Baju Melayu and Baju Raya for the single parents and their kids to wear for this year, the idea was rejected in favour of a cash donation so that the poor Muslim parents could buy and choose their own clothes for Hari Raya instead. Around 7 poor Muslim parents and single parents received the RM200-RM400 (depending on the number of kids they have) and they included Hasrun Manaf and his three sons, Ani and her four kids, Siti and her two kids, Malar and her three kids, Bob and his three kids, Suhaibah and her three kids, Eda and her four kids. All were flabbergasted to get the news about the cash donation and they were truly overwhelmed by the generosity of the donors towards making Hari Raya a special occasion. A visibly tearful Malar for instance couldn’t believe that a stranger would contribute to make a Raya so special especially since she is so financially tight and trying so hard to make ends meet! Eda from Rawang was equally touched to get the good news. She became a single mother after her hubby died of cancer in September last year leaving her to care for her four kids. Today she runs a small café in Cyberjaya earning only RM1,000 a month and so the extra cash to buy Raya clothes for herself and her kids were an unexpected blessing indeed! The others too expressed their heartfelt thanks for this donation that would enable them to get a baju Raya and shoes for RM50 each at least! Ani who lives in Puchong with her four kids and who could not travel to Sabah due to a lack of funds, was in tears when she received the duit raya to buy clothes and cookies for her kids. A very grateful Ani said that she never expected such a helping hand and is most grateful to the people who chose to help her family in this way. To our Muslim single parents and to their very generous donors – Sharifah and family, Wah Foon and hubby.. a very BIG Thank You and Selamat Hari Raya to all!

Balls, balls and pads!!

What do you do when someone donates around 30 bowling balls to you? Jumble Station received a call about whether or not we accept bowling balls and thinking that it was probably only one or two, we said okay! Imagine our shock when the lorry driver Hasrun delivered the 30 bowling balls and we had no idea what to do with them. That’s when we had the brainwave to call the nearest bowling centre which happened to be at the Summit Shopping Centre. The manager Mustafa Yassin was kind enough to allow JS to sell the bowling balls directly to the players at the bowling entre especially since there was a tournament on from 11pm till 1.30am that Sunday. So promptly at 9.30pm single mother Irene and I showed up at the bowling alley complete with the 30 bowling balls only to learn a couple of new things which we aren’t likely to forget. First off, all the bowling balls are not made equal – I used to think about the only thing differentiating each ball is the finger holding size per ball.. hah! Mustafa told us that balls weigh differently and the ones we brought over fell into two categories – the 10-11 pound category and the 13-14 pound category. The other differentiating factor was that each ball went according to the brand, some brands were more marketable than others, some were designed to spin as they roll, some were designed to give killer shots etc. Even the pricing was different – the lighter balls could be sold for RM80 and below while the heavier balls could be sold for RM100 and below. We also learnt that bowling balls were being sold from RM400 to a high of RM800 for the really high class model – so pricing our balls from RM100 and below should make it attractive for ardent bowlers! Well it turns out most Malaysians prefer the lighter balls and sadly we only had about 5 of these and these were quickly snapped but the rest could not attract any buyers even though we offered two balls at RM150 with a third ball given for free! In the end we left the remaining balls for Mustafa to try and flog them off to some newbie players but to date, there’s hasn’t been a call from him yet! And then JS received some 12 cartons of brand new “She” sanitary pads for our single parents in the usual day, night and promotional pack deals with the proviso that the single parents use these for themselves or if they want to sell to earn an income, the pricing must be close to the recommended retail price which was around RM9 for the daytime pads, RM10 for the night time. Again, the single parents and poor mums who received these were delighted because it meant they need not spend their own money buying these what more for their kids! Suhaibah for one who has two teenaged daughters is happy to get the pads because she says her financial situation is currently very tight and this batch of pads should last she and her daughters quite some time! Single mother Mariammah was amused to have been given sanitary pads but recognizes that this free gift will certainly help her save some cash considering that her salary is only RM750 a month with 3 boys to feed each month! And for single mother Mah who plans to sell the pads at the price recommended by the donor so that should greatly increase her monthly income to help feed her brood of kids. Anyone else out there with stuff to donate… just call or SMS 016-2202958 and we’ll be there in a jiffy!

JS hits 5 years!

Jumble Station’s 5 years old and to celebrate the special milestone we had our annual party which was held on July 1 2012, themed Starry Starry Bright featuring at least two well known stars ..er impersonators – Michael Jackson and P. Ramlee! P Ramlee’s timeless charm came alive through the comedic rendition of Ai Ya Cik Siti which immortalizes the Ali Baba story of a servant girl attempting to procure the services of a cobbler to sew up a dead body. Single dads Adrian Ong and Hasrun Manaf played the role of Siti and Ah Pek so well they had the hugely appreciative crowd in stitches watching the blindfolded couple jump a couple of imaginary steps. And then came the real crowd pleaser! MJ Surin who is a real life Malaysian clone of the real Michael Jackson stunned the 150 plus single parents and kids who turned up for the event, with his mesmerizing moonwalks, fancy footwork and pulsating poses . From the minute he burst on stage and threw his hat down in a defiant act of independence, he had the audience, old and young right in the palm of his hands. They avidly followed his every move, every gesture and when he hopped off stage to grab some hands, many rushed forward to grasp or to snap some quick shots. When he left for a quick costume change, the crowd yelled impatiently for his return and just couldn’t get enough of his slick dancing moves. Prior to that, JS showed a slide presentation of all the highlights of the 5 year journey and smiles could be seen on the faces of those who were caught by the camera over from 2007 to 2012. Topping off the day’s event was a Blessed Draw where some 15 prizes were up for grabs and a sumptuous high tea with ayam berempah, golden nuggets and browned sausages while goodie bags filled with items such as an electric kettle each, Hovid’s vitamins and GDEX’s KFC coupons among other items. The Lioness Club of Subang Jaya were also on hand to make this party a very special one with 5 of their members turning up to assist us in the preparation of the goodie bags for the kids and in the presentation of the blessed draw gifts. Yes, the mood was joyous, the laughter infectious and the fun contagious. All in all, it was a great way to celebrate 5 glorious years of working with the poor single parents and it clearly showed that the passion still burns as bright as ever.